City slaughterhouse operations rose in profit amid pandemic
The city slaughterhouse saw an uptrend in its return of investment (ROI) among other industries as more people avail of slaughtering services during the pandemic.
Compared to an average of 40-50 heads in 2019, the slaughterhouse caters 60-70 livestock heads per month this year, amounting to almost 4.5 million pesos in profit from January to October alone.
The profit came from ensuring compliant slaughtering of different livestock such as hogs, cattle, carabaos, goats, and sheep to guarantee safe food consumption.
The said office has also requested additional personnel from the City Mayor as more clients are expected to sell meat products this month of December.
To keep up with the operating expenses, the city slaughterhouse has also adjusted its rates. Clients will be charged a flat rate of P1.00 per kilo of meat plus a standard fee for the kind of livestock to be slaughtered, ranging from P95.00-P170.00 per head.
As to why it’s important to patronize services at the slaughterhouse, Slaughterhouse Master II Rucelyn S. Almerol says it keeps our meat safe and that it passes safety standards. Undergoing clean slaughter can also avoid illnesses affecting meat products in the city, especially with the looming threat of African Swine Fever (ASF).
“Very important ina sya, because may ara kita nga layi nga ginasunod nga dapat maging safe and sound ang tanan nga ginaihaw naton, nga wala sang sakit nga maglapta diri sa Koronadal City. That’s why may ara kita nga meat inspector division. Sila na ang naga check upon entry sang aton nga mga livestock.”
Triple-A slaughterhouse underway
For now, the city slaughterhouse offers manual operations under its Single-A certification, but the city has moved the papers to expedite the upgrade to Triple-A slaughterhouse – a mechanized operation where it can cater meat slaughtering fit for international export.
A lot has been identified at Barangay Paraiso to construct the new slaughtering facility.
On the possible effect of the project to our local livestock producers, Ms. Almerol sees it will be beneficial for producers to make their local products known outside of Koronadal and at the same time, attract investors to avail our international-standard services.
“Sa farmers, mas mapromote pa gid ang ila feature nga quality meat products. Dako ang mabulig sini sa aton nga mga livestock investor. Damo na ina diri magsulod na hog raisers.
Ang slaughterhouse ang kusina sa siyudad… Kung mas nami ang kusina, Damo ka man makaon.”